South Korean authorities suspect that the North Korean hacking group Lazarus is behind the Upbit attack.

South Korea's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, suffered a theft of approximately 44.5 billion KRW (about $32 million USD), and South Korean authorities are focusing on whether the North Korean hacker group Lazarus was responsible. The group has previously been accused of involvement in the 2019 Upbit incident, where about 58 billion KRW worth of Ethereum was stolen.

This attack also occurred in a hot wallet, with methods similar to the event six years ago. Security experts noted that the hackers used "multiple hops" and "coin mixing" to launder funds—tactics suspected to be typical of Lazarus.

Currently, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, the Financial Security Institute, and the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) have launched on-site inspections of Upbit.

[Yonhap News Agency]